Veiled Mist
by JustPlainDani
Summary: Uzumaki Yuki knows her life as she knows it is just one lie after the other... she only knows half of the truth. But the answers only make more questions... who is her real mother? What did her father do to deserve death? Will she ever know?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** "Naruto" belongs to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

* * *

_She stood atop the cliff, wind whipping her waist-length black hair back from her face. Cold, angluar golden-brown eyes pierced the darkness of the forest, waiting until the wildlife came in to focus, and she was able to pick out the movements of her target._

_Pale fingers quitely pulled a shuriken from the holster on her left thigh, and held it, ready to strike. She prepared to launch it..._

_When a hand caught her wrist, causing her to gasp loudly and drop her weapon in surprise._

_"You should be more aware of your surroundings, Yuki-chan." a voice whispered helpfully. She nodded once._

_"Yes, Father."_

_"Then try it again." Orochimaru commanded._

_The tiny girl nodded before closing her eyes._

Uzumaki Yuki's eyes snapped open, and she sat bolt upright in bed again as rain pounded on the roof of the house. Thunder boomed outside, and Yuki hugged the blanket tigther around herself, shivering.

_Why does rain always take me back...?_ she wondered as the feeling of blood covering her hands and her hair sticking to her face, wet with rain, penetrated her conciousness. She shook at the sounds of the thunder, images of a man being brutally murdered right before her eyes, her screaming until her throat was raw, and two men dragging her away from the corpse flooded her mind.

The light suddenly came on in her room.

"Hey, Yuki... you okay?" Uzumaki Naruto asked, concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine." she muttered, shivering involuntarily as the thunder boomed outside.

"Alright, if you say so... sure you don't want some tea or something?"

_Geez, what is his deal?!_ she thought before answering. "No, I'll be fine till the morning. But thanks anyway."

"Okay..."

The lights went out, and Yuki sighed into the pillow.

_Of **all **the people in this Godforsaken village I couldve been forced to live with, why **this** dipstick?!_

**

* * *

********Author's Note:** Alright, so this is my first fic for Naruto. Thank you for reading... and, you know... that "Submit Review" button is _begging_ to be clicked... xD


	2. It's a Wonderful Life

**Disclaimer: **All rights belong to _Naruto_'s author and respective publishers. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

**Author's Note:** Enjoy this view in to Yuki's past! :D

* * *

_At age six, Yuki sat on the edge of the dock, alone. Behind her, she could hear the happy groups of friends on the playground. She sighed, vowing not to cry in front of them; the loss of her father made her emotional at random, and inconvenient, times._

_An orange-haired girl walked over and tapped her on the shoulder, just as she thought she was close to losing it._

_"Hi!" she chirped. Yuki turned her head to face the other child._

_"What is it? Need help with your homework or something?" Yuki asked._

_"No, I got mine all done on my own. Why'd you ask?" the other girl questioned. Yuki shrugged._

_"That's normally all people want to talk to me about." She shrugged her shoulders as she looked at the girl's sandals instead of her face._

_"Oh... well, I want to be your friend!"_

_Yuki blinked a few times. "You do?"_

_"Yeah!" Her smile was brighter than the sun sinking below the tree line. "My name's Mizuki. Let's be friends!"_

_Yuki smiled softly. "Okay."_

_A few weeks of games and studying and eating lunches together later, she went to talk to Mizuki in the school yard. As usual, Mizuki was surrounded by a group of blondes wearing pink, but Yuki had quickly taken to ignoring them._

_"Mizuki!" she called, waving. Mizuki raised her head. "Mizuki!" Yuki finally stopped by her friend's side. "Mizuki, I found a spot of us to eat our lunches that's even prettier than the dock!"_

_"Uhm, Yuki..." Mizuki said, her big, blue-green eyes filled with tears, "My mommy and daddy said that we can't play together anymore."_

_"What?" Yuki asked, not daring to breathe. "Why not?"_

_"I dunno. But Mommy said that your daddy is bad, and that you're bad too, and I'm not allowed to play with you or talk to you anymore. And... and..." Mizuki was near hysteria._

_"And what?" Yuki asked, her voice breaking. She loved her father, and had only done what he told her to do before he died. He had treated her like a princess, and taught her how to be strong and smart, like him; how could he possibly be bad?_

_" ...oniisan said you were a freak who was bad news for the village, and you shouldn't be allowed to go to the academy."_

_Yuki stiffled a sob and ran towards the trees across the lake, wanting only to get away._

* * *

_A seven-year-old Yuki at her desk in the Academy classroom, on the edge of the table._

_"Uzumaki-san."_

_She turns her head nonchalantly from the window to Iruka-sensei._

_"Hai?"_

_"Please come up to the front and demonstrate the doppleganger technique."_

_With a sigh, she stood and walked to from her seat in the back down to the front of her classroom, stopping before the sensei._

_"Turn around and face the class."_

_She did as she was told and made the proper hand sign._

_**Focus... DOPPLEGANGER!!!**_

_Two copies of her appeared on her left and right. The class 'ooh!'ed and 'aah!'ed before bursting in to applause._

_At the end of the day, Iruka-sensei took her aside._

_"Uzumaki-san, how would you feel about taking the graduation examination early?"_

_She blinked and stared up at him with big, golden eyes._

_"Hm?"_

_"What do you think? I think you're ready."_

_"... I'll talk to Naruto and Sakura." She said simply before turning around._

_"Hey!" Iruka-sensei said, grabbing her shoulder. "Show them some respect, after everything they've done for you! They're your family!"_

_She turned her head around to glare dangerously at him. Iruka could have sworn he saw her eyes flash red._

_"I don't know who my real mother is," she hissed darkly, "and my father is dead, by the hand of Hidden Leaf shinobi. I refuse to refer to any of you as my family."_

_Shocked, Iruka's hand dropped from her shoulder. For an eight-year-old child, she was already cold. He decided to blame Orochimaru as he watched her form disappear._

* * *

_Now nine, Yuki darted around the much bigger men, throwing kunai and firing off techniques like mad. She had to prove, then and there, to the older members of Squad 13 that she didn't need their help staying alive._

_Just then, a foot flew in to her stomach._

_"Children shouldn't be put on the battlefield! Is Konoha really that desperate?!" The man smiled as she flew, hitting the ground and bouncing up again before landing against the side of a cliff. _

_"Yuki-chan!" An older girl, Mikka, sprinted toward her, ready to protect her and perform a healing jutsu._

_"Mikka-san... I'm okay..." Yuki opened her eyes and stared at the older girl, who was somewhere between twelve and thirteen years of age. The young girl gasped. I can see... so clearly! Every slight movement of the enemies, of the stronger chakra flowing through Mikka, was visible to her. Mikka, meanwhile, dropped her hands and managed to move back a few feet._

_"What **are** you?" Mikka whispered, staring back in to Yuki's red eyes. "The Sharingan died out with the Uchiha family...!"_

* * *

_"You've got to start training in kendo!" Naruto yelled. It was a few weeks after her thirteenth birthday, and she was excited to wear a new shirt she'd received to meet her new squad members, who were actually her age now. _

_"You mean like swords?" she asked, reaching for food._

_"Yes! You've got to learn more skills if you want to keep up with everyone else!" Naruto had been emphasizing this point since she had graduated from the Academy, making her train with him early in the morning to refine any and all of her skills._

_Finally, the kendo lesson came. Yuki, as small as she was, darted left and right, using many blocks and attacks that the instructor was shocked to see in one with little to no experience._

_"I've never seen someone as strong as her. I want to train her for free, daily, until she can defeat me." He told Naruto in confidence as Sakura walked Yuki back to their house._

_"For free?" Naruto said in shock._

_"Yes. I want to see her succeed, but I don't believe in charging you for her to advance what nature gave her."_

_Some nature... she's got the snake's blood, after all. She's at least on part Legendary Sannin... Naruto said to himself._

* * *

The gray-white light of dawn streamed through her window, and Yuki rubbed her eyes before running a hand through her hair. At seventeen, she was more powerful than even some jonin in the village, had more fighting experience than most shinobi, and a figure that put most fully grown women to shame. But that didn't change who she was, and who the rest of the village saw her as.

She rose and looked into the small mirror over her dresser. Her waist-length black hair was a mess, shadowing her bright golden eyes. She pushed it back and stared herself in the face.

The last name she'd taken upon coming to Konoha was Uzumaki, implying that she was related to Naruto and his happy wife Sakura. But that was a lie, and anyone who looked could see it. While they we fair-haired and tan, she was dark-haired and pale. They had wide, innocent blue and green eyes, while she had narrow and perceptive gold ones.

She resembled her father too much to be taken for a normal resident of Konoha. And she accepted that.

But she would make them regret calling her evil. Calling her a freak. Saying she had no right to live. Judging her based on what her father had done.

She was determined to make them pay.


	3. Proposition

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and all related characters, places, concepts, etc. belong to the respective authors and publishers. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

**Author's Note:** Well, here's a new chapter for you! I'm trying to make it as good as humanly possible, and write everyone in character as I possibly can.

Also, thanks to Bullet for the lovely reviews! They totally make my day. (The rest of you should know... that "Submit Review" button is _begging_ you to click it... xD)

Enjoy!

* * *

Yuki sat perched on a massive tree root deep in the forest, on the banks of the river, watching the water go by.

"Hey, Yuki."

Yuki turned around, her Sharingan automatically in action. She halted it when she realized it was Mizuki.

"What's up?" the dark-haired girl asked coldly.

"Uhm, not much. You?"

Yuki stared back out at the river. "Thinking."

"That's nice." Mizuki said with a small smile.

"Yup."

Yuki tugged at the blue fabric of the shinobi headband around her neck, then flicked her overlong bangs out of her eyes. Her black hair was pulled loosely in to a bun at the back of her head, as it was a hot day, and her hair was so thick and long it made her neck sweat too much to be left hanging loose, like Mizuki's.

"I... I like your outfit." Mizuki commented.

"Thanks." Yuki said quietly, tugging on the three-quarters length sleeves of her black top. She wore loose, green pants with it, with her shuriken holster on her left thigh. Blue, metal-plated gloves covered her hands, and she wore a silver Sound Village symbol on a long, silver chain around her neck. There was also a leather string arond her neck, much shorter than the chain, with a charm reading "hope" in kanji hanging from it. On top of that, her feet were bare.

"What did you come here to talk to me about, Mizuki? And more so, how did you find me here? Nobody knows about this spot but me."

"Uh..."

"What?"

"... Can I sit next to you...?"

Yuki sighed. "Of course." She patted the root next to her, and Mizuki sat.

"Are you going to participate in the jonin examination?"

Yuki lifted her head and stared up at the sky. "I don't think so. Ranks don't really matter to me."

"They don't? But don't you want to prove to everyone that you're just as good as they are?"

The dark-haired girl turned to her old friend. "No. I just want to kick their asses. But I don't need to be a jonin to do that, now, do I? All I need to do is be stronger than they are."

"Yuki..." Mizuki met her eyes. "You've become really sarcastic and cold over the years, haven't you?"

"Years of idiotic prejudice will do that to you." she snapped, eyes cold.

"I'm sorry." Mizuki said softly, looking away. "I didn't know any better... I was a little kid... my parents and brother told me..."

Yuki put her hand on Mizuki's. "I'm sorry about your brother. Naruto said... that it was horrible... I'm sure your brother was really and truly a good person. He's in a better place now."

Mizuki nodded. "He died years ago anyway. I'm pretty much over it now."

Yuki nodded once.

"So... will you be taking the exam?"

"I'm still a freakin' chunin. Do I qualify to take it?"

"With your talent, I'm sure Tsunade-sama and Iruka-sensei will allow it."

"When are they taking place? Do you know?"

Mizuki looked out to the river. "The jonin exams aren't as well-publicized as the chunin exams or Academy graduations. Only a few people know about them. But, my dad is helping organize the whole she-bang, so I know more than most everyone."

Yuki nodded. "Continue."

"Well, the shinobi from the Sand Village are arriving right about now... there should be seven of them. I think we have either two or three coming from the Waterfall Village, and there's one coming from the Sound Village."

"We've got a representative from the Sound Village?!"

"Yeah. He's our age, and really strong. He got here the day before yesterday. I saw him."

"What does he look like?"

"Messy dark brown hair, pale, and two different colored eyes. One's blue and the other's green. You know him?"

Yuki pushed her bangs back from her face. "I think so. I knew a kid who fit that description when I lived there. Fa- Orochimaru- saw potential in him, and recruited him. But he hated it. I spoke with him several times... he always talked about getting stronger, but he didn't believe that whole 'the end justifies the means' crap. So I can guess he's trustworthy."

"You should report this to Tsunade-sama immediate-"

"Why should I?!" Yuki half-yelled. "Tsunade-_**sama**_-" she spat the title, "-never wanted _**anything**_ to do with me before this point. The only reason she'd allow me to participate in the jonin exam is because the Leaf Village is freakishly weak. It always has been and always will be." Yuki stood angrily.

"Yuki..." Mizuki reached a hand out, as if to pat her shoulder, but Yuki took a step away.

"I'll take the freaking exam. I'll try my best. But I can't guarantee I'll enjoy it. When and where do I need to be?"

"Be at the door of Tsunade-sama's office at dawn in three days. I don't know for sure how it works from there, but I think you'll all be put in to teams. From there I have no clue."

Yuki closed her eyes and bowed her head.

"I've missed talking with you, Mizuki-san. Thank you." she said solemnly before walking away.

_So... Tsunade-sama wants to see me at last..._

_

* * *

__"Who **is** this kid? Why is she here?" The blonde woman sitting behind the desk stared down at the tiny, dark-haired child standing before her. Her clothes were still torn, and she was splatted with blood and drenched with rain. A Sound Village headband was visible through the black bangs parted in the middle of her forehead. _

_"I have absolutely no idea. But she was with the enemy, and she called him 'father'." an attendant informed the village leader._

_"**What did you say?**" Tsunade hissed, glaring down at the girl, eyes flashing with rage, terror, and... what was it...? Wonder? Possibly._

_"Why...?" the little girl whispered, in a voice so frail that Tsunade almost missed it. "Why... did those men kill my father...? He never... he never did anything wrong. He told me... he just wanted to see my mother again..." The girl choked out a small sob and then wiped at her eyes. _

_Tsunade moved out from behind her desk, and bent down so that she was eye-to-eye with the sobbing girl. _

_"Your daddy said he wanted to see your mommy? And that's why you two were sighted in the forest?" she asked gently._

_"Mm-hm." _

_"How old are you, little girl? What's your name?" the Hokage asked._

_"... I-I'm five. And... and... my name's Yu-Yuki." She stared Tsunade in the face, her gold eyes big, red at the whites, and puffy from crying. _

_Tsuande looked away, her own eyes full of regret. _

_"I'm sure your mommy loved your daddy very much, and would have been happy to see him again." she said, so quietly only Yuki could hear. The powerful woman then rose and turned to stare out the windows, in to the thunderstorm._

_"Get this brat out of my sight. Why in the **hell** would you take her here, anyway? You all **know** how much I hate little kids." she said coldly._

_"Bu-but Tsunade-sama! What are we supposed to do with her until we find a host family who would be willing to...?"_

_"I don't care. Take her downstairs to get her cleaned up, and then play with her or something. Tell Shizune to summon Uzumaki Naruto and his wife Haruno Sakura, and that they need to get down here immediately. I'll see if they want to do it."_

_"Why those two...?"_

_"Because Naruto will be able to sympathesize with the shit this lil brat will have to put up with for the rest of her life. Now get to it!"_

_The two attendants ushered Yuki through the door, willing to leave Tsunade alone with her thoughts and get the girl cleaned up._

_Within forty-five minutes, Yuki stood in Tsunade's office again, wearing a simple pale pink yukata. Her hair had been washed, brushed, and was pulled in to two long, loose ponytails down her back. Her face was no longer covered in blood, and she had stopped crying. _

_Sakura let out a small 'aww!' when Yuki entered, and Naruto smiled as his wife rushed over to the little girl._

_"What's your name, little one?"_

_"I'm Yuki." she answered quitely._

_"Yuki, I'm Sakura. I'm going to be your mommy from now on, and we'll be great friends!"_

_Yuki sighed. "I've never had a mommy before. Is it nice?"_

_Naruto didn't miss the look in the Hokage's eyes as she turned away from the woman and girl's conversation._

_"Grandma Tsunade... do you know the little girl?" Naruto asked quietly._

_"I've never seen her in my life until today." Tsunade said indifferently._

_Of course, Yuki couldn't hear any of this over Sakura's happy chatter. Smiles weren't something she was used to seeing, having been surrounded by battle and combat training her entire life. _

_Maybe this won't be too bad... the people here seem nicer than father's friends. _

_

* * *

__What a lie, _Yuki thought bitterly. How naive she had been not to know about idiot prejudices and people assuming things.

_Maybe Mizuki's right... and this jonin exam will prove that I'm worth a second look..._


	4. Begin Test One: Survival

**Disclaimer:** _Naruto_, unfortunately, belongs to the respective writer(s) and publishers. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

* * *

"Yuki." Yuki groaned and turned over, despite the alarm of sorts.

"Yuki. Please wake up." On further reflection, she decided to open her eyes.

"Yeah, what...?"

"Hey, you little brat, get outta bed!" Naruto cried from the table below.

Yuki snarled a bit and stood up. Sakura handed her a robe to put over the too-small shirt and shorts she slept in. Yuki took it, pulled her arms through the sleeves, and then tied it loosely at the waist.

"Get down here and be grateful for the breakfast that Sakura made you-!"

"Shut up!" A pillow collided with Naruto's face, stiffling his comment. "I don't need your crap this early in the morning!" Yuki yelled, walking down the stairs in front of Sakura.

"You could be a little less moody, ne?" Naruto asked quietly, pulling the pillow off his face.

"What was that?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Calm down, you guys." Sakura interjected from the stove as Yuki pulled out a chair and sat down at the small table beneath the loft.

"So are you excited for today?" Naruto asked, blue eyes flashing with glee.

"Not really." Yuki said, bored, as Sakura placed a tray of toast and small plate of butter on the table.

"Not even a little bit? You should be happy! A seventeen-year-old taking the jonin exam is next to unheard of-!"

"Because the jonin exams are kept insanely low-profile, dumbass." Sakura said tartly, handing Yuki a knife. The young girl promptly began to butter a piece of near-burnt toast.

"How can you stand to eat that...?" Naruto asked, grabbing on of the lighter pieces.

"I like it burnt. It's tasty and makes the flavor of the butter stand out more." Yuki replied simply, shoving the entire piece in her mouth and reaching for another.

Naruto shrugged. "Whatever you say." he said quietly, chewing slowly on the toast as Sakura seated herself. Just then, Yuki noticed the light from outside becoming brighter.

"Oh, shit!" she cried out, standing and stuffing another piece of burnt toast in her mouth. "Gotta go!" she yelled, mouth full as she picked up her sword and tied it on. "I love you two!"

Naruto grinned. "We love you, too." Sakura said.

"Do your best!" Naruto yelled.

Yuki nodded. "I will!" she cried before throwing open the front door and walking out.

* * *

"Damn it! Where are the rest of them...?"

Yuki sprinted through the halls, then skidded to a stop when she saw a group of forgein ninja resting lazily in front of a door she fleetingly recognized.

'That must be them!' she thought, and walked over to them.

"You takin' the jonin exam?" a tall boy in a Sound Village headband who was leaning against the wall asked her.

"Are you?" she questioned back, taking a careful step towards him.

"Yeah. Name's Daishi." He offered her his right hand, and she took it.

"I'm Yuki." she said, shaking his hand. It was so warm... and massive... compared to her cold, slender hand.

A Sand ninja stood up.

"My name's Akane. It's a pleasure."

"Yuki." Yuki repeated with a nod.

"These are my brothers, Tamaki and Hiroki." Akane motioned to the two boys standing behind her. A blonde one stepped forward.

"I'm Tamaki. Nice to meet you."

She shook his hand.

The other one stepped forward.

"Isn't it great that the Leaf and Sand villages have such incredible friendships?! I don't know if you know, but around 20 years ago, it was horrible. Oh, and my name's Hiroki, by the way." He rubbed the back of his head with his left hand and blushed while holding his right out to her.

"Yeah, it is good. I'm so glad that I'm allowed to befriend you guys without being called a traitor. The name's Yuki." She smiled softly at his shyness.

"How old are you, Yuki-san?" Daishi questioned, bored, from his spot against the wall.

"Me? Just turned seventeen a while back. How 'bout you guys?"

"I'm eighteen." Akane said.

"Yeah, I'm twenty." Tamaki commented.

"And I'm twenty-six." Hiroki admitted, blushing again.

"What about you, Daishi-san?"

" ...I'm seventeen, too."

Two other ninja suddenly appeared from around the corner.

"You're a local, right?" the girl asked. Her hair was a bright, tomato red, cropped short, and spiked in every direction. Her ninja headband was tied around her waist, as a belt to a black collar shirt that she was wearing as a dress. Her nails matched her turquoise eyes perfectly.

"Yeah. Why?"

The girl gestured to the doors. "Is that Tsunade-sama's office?"

"Yup. We're waiting to get in."

"Jonin exam?"

"Mm-hm."

The forgeiner closed her eyes. "We are too. My name's Chizuru. This is my sister, Ayaka. We come from the hidden Waterfall Village." Chizuru gestured to the tall blonde behind her when she announced Ayaka's name.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Yuki."

Just then, the doors opened.

"Tsunade-sama will see you now." Shizune said, and the group walked in.

* * *

"First let me inform you that you lot are one of the youngest groups that have ever been considered even elligible to take this exam. You should feel honored." the Hokage said as they stood in a life before her desk.

"Secondly, I will have to explain the rules. We try and do anything above a chunin exam differently every time, so that people don't pass along wisdom. Since there is an uneven number of you, however, it makes things difficult. So here's how it will all go down, boys and girls."

Tsunade closed her eyes and reopened them.

"For the first part, you're going to be lead in to the forest at separate times, and in separate locations. When you start, it's every man for himself. No teams. For the rest of today, you will spend time making your camp, collecting food and water, etc. But when the sun sets today... there are no rules, except to stay alive. Whoever isn't dead after five days will continue on with the exam."

"So basically, it's a survival test." Daishi said simply.

"Precisely. One of the most important skills of a jonin, or any ninja, is your ability to survive on your own. You've got to be able to pull your own weight."

Everyone nodded grimly.

"When the sun sets on Day Five, you need to be at the edge of the forest, where my team can pick you up. Everyone clear?"

The group nodded.

"Then you have about thirty minutes until your examination begins. Do not leave this building. Understood?"

"Hai."

* * *

Yuki opened one eye to sneak a peak at Daishi. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning her back against the wall. Daishi had his arms propped up on his legs, and was bowing his head, eyes closed.

Yuki had to admit, he was attractive. His black of his hair was cut short, and spiked in every direction. His bangs shaded his eyes and nearly covered the Sound Village symbol on his headband. He wore a long-sleeved fishnet top, with a loose, low-cut deep purple tank top over it. Black shorts, blue shoes, purple Sound Village gloves, and a long, black overcoat completed his look.

"Daishi-san?"

"What is it?"

" ... Nothing. Forget I said anything." 'I don't want to scare him off. He probably hates father still, even though he's long dead.'

"Are you all ready?" An attendant asked the group. They all stared him in the face and nodded. "Let's go, then."

* * *

Yuki opened the bag she had slung across her back that the attendant had given her. It was a blanket containing a flashlight, latern, sleeping bag, rope, matches, and batteries. She galnced around warily, and saw a rather large tree limb on the ground. After looking around some more, she found four more, and put them together. She tossed the blanket over the top of the sticks and then nailed it to the ground using four kunai.

_Now I just have to hope to god it doesn't start raining._ she thought, stepping back and wiping her hands on her pants to admire her handiwork.

She turned her head a few times. "I better go find some firewood..." she thought aloud before dashing off to collect some.

* * *

Daishi opened his care package from the Hokage's attendant._ I think I want to sleep under the stars.._. he mused, such a romantic scene appealing to him as he laid the blanket in a small clearing and then putting the sleeping bag on top of it.

He looked around for a bit, and found enough stones to outline a fireplace. After setting them, he took out a kunai and began to dig out a hole to put the wood in.

A while later, he pushed a hand through his unkept hair, wanting to get his sweaty bangs away from his face.

_Gettin' kinda hungry... _he thought, rising to hunt around for food.

* * *

Tamaki, on the other hand, was having next to no luck with his supplies.

"Dammit!" he yelled, throwing the matches on the ground. "Why in the hell won't it light?! Shit... craptastic! I wish Akane was here. She's good with fire, lil pyro." he finished his thought at an angry mumble.

"You'll never become a jonin like that, dumbass." Hiroki said, walking out from behind a tree.

"Hey... we're not supposed to join up till tomorrow morning..."

"Who gives a shit? Nobody's watching, no one's gonna find out unless you tell 'em." Hiroki snapped at his little brother.

Tamaki stared at the ground.

" ... Wanna combine supplies?"

* * *

Chizuru piled her shirt-dress and ninja headband together before jumping in to the river.

"Ah!" she breathed when her head broke the surface. "Nothin' like a good swim in the early evening!" she mused, floating around in the river and allowing the icy water to wash over her skin.

The redhead sighed before sinking beneath the water.

_I hope everything goes well in this exam..._

* * *

Ayaka lept down from the tree to admire her work. The blanket was strung between two high-up tree branches, like a hammock; the sleeping bag was to serve as a blanket. She'd also placed the lattern on a branch right above her head, and had found an alcove in the tree right beside her for the flashlight.

"Nice!" she said enthusiastically. "Awesome campsite! I've got this in the bag!"

**-End Day One: Survival Section-**


	5. Black Holes and Revelations

**Author's Note:** Sorry for how late this update is, but thank you so much for your patience and please, enjoy!

* * *

**-Begin Day Two: Survival Section-**

Yuki slowly opened her eyes. She was curled up in a ball shivering, and there was a light fog in the forest. She yawned, then stretched before rising. She fumbled around for a bit before finding her hairbrush. Yanking it through her hair, she got an idea.

The still shivering girl began to twist her hair in to a long braid, twisting the ends in to a bun at the base of her neck.

* * *

Daishi yawned lazily and shook his shoulders. The tall boy stared up at the mid-morning sun.

"Dammit. Looks like I've been asleep nearly half the day..." He rose, attempting to smooth out the wrinkles in his pants. "Better go find some food..." he muttered sleepily, trudging away from his camp.

* * *

"Tamaki. Tamaki."

Tamaki groaned, then turned over. "Tamaki!"

"What?!" The blonde sat up and glared at his brother. _How dare he wake me? I need all my strength to survive in the woods..._

"Don't you think it's not really a... 'survival challenge' if no one's life is in danger...?" Hiroki's eyes took on a dangerous gleam as he said this.

Tamaki rubbed his eyes. "What are you talking about, oniisan? Of course people are in danger... we're in the middle of the goddamn woods..."

Hiroki opened his pouch to reveal several paper bombs, shuriken and kunai.

"That's not what I'm talking about. We need to start knocking them out now, so that we will instantly be the only ones competing for superiority." Hiroki stared at his artillery, calculating who would get what treatment.

"But, oniisan! That's not what our villages have worked for, that's not the peace that you are so excited about--!" Tamaki seemed upset; his eyes appeared more moist than usual.

"Tamaki-kun, to survive in this world is to have power. With power comes rank, and without either of these things, you are merely a turd in the punch bowl of life. No more than a meager fly on a horse's ass, to be swatted away at any given moment..." Hiroki clenched his fists. "We must regain honor for our family, and for our village, in the most sure-fire way possible."

"Oniisan, that's not honorable, though!" Tamaki turned away, wiping an escapee from his eye.

"Sometimes, it's what we achieve rather than how we achieve it that is important." The older man adjusted his headband and rose. "Now. Quit your crying and come with me."

"Or what....?" Tamaki stared at his already dirt-stained hands.

"Or you'll be expendable as well. You know too much, and we can't have any... **accidents**." Hiroki muttered.

Tamaki rose with a nod.

* * *

Yuki, hiding in a bush, suddenly spotted Daishi nearby. She kicked her Sharingan in to action.

_Looks like he's looking for food... _she scanned the area around him. _By his hand... what the hell...?!_ She focused her Sharingan a bit more, trying to see the object more clearly. Her eyes widened in shock as she gasped loudly. _Paper bomb...! _She sprung from the bush, hanging slightly in the air before hitting the ground running.

"Get down!" she yelled at Daishi, grabbing him by the waist and tackling him.

"What the hell?!" he cried.

A kunai suddenly flew out from behind a tree, hitting the bomb and causing it promptly to explode. Daishi's eyes widened with shock.

"How did you... know that was there...?" He looked in to her eyes, and saw the red. "Sharingan... you're...!"

She rose, wiping her hands on her pants. "Yeah. It's me. Remember now?"

"You..." His eyes held so many emotions, even he barely understood the depth and complexity of them.

"Yeah. Me." She folded her hands together, like she was bowing, and stared at the dirt beneath her feet.

Daishi rose. "When did you leave the village...?"

"About twelve years ago." she answered, still focused on the ground.

"Why...?"

"Some Leaf shinobi showed up. I tried to make them stop, but... they... they killed father...!"

"I heard that..." Daishi cut her off, then tried again, unsure how to word it properly. "That he was killed by the Uchiha kid. About five or six years ago."

Yuki's breath caught, audibly, in her throat. "Where did you hear that?!" she hissed. "Did you ever **see** him after he was murdered, **right in front of me**?!"

Suddenly, a twig snapped in the distance, and both teens turned toward the sound. After a second, their eyes met. The two nodded in unison, leaving a silence.

"Listen. You saved my life... and you have a useful skill... do you want to team up with me? Just for the next four days. It won't kill you, I promise." Daishi said quietly, deciding to break the silent barriers around them.

Yuki stared at him in shock. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. If you recall, we made a pretty good team, back in the day." He winked. Yuki blushed and tried not to visibly melt before him.

* * *

"Damn it, Tamaki!" Hiroki hissed under his breath, grabbing the younger boy by his collar. "What the hell were you thinking, not watching your fucking step?! She almost caught us!"

Tamaki's cheeks reddened as he defended himself. "Hey, you didn't see her Sharingan coming either. Or the fact that she and the other kid have worked together in the past!"

The two men glared at each for a moment before Hiroki turned away, closing his eyes, letting go of Tamaki's shirt and taking a few steps forward in one swift motion.

"It's fine. We can just start with the weakest links, so that they won't bother us as we pick off the stronger ones..." Hiroki turned his eyes to the quickly setting sun, casting the sky with hues of oranges and reds. "Red sunset..."

"Blood will be spilled on this night..." Tamaki finished the old saying for his older brother as a light breeze caught their hair....

**-End Day Two: Survival Section-**


	6. What Happens to the Boy?

**Disclaimer: **_Naruto_ belongs to the respective author and publishers. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

**Author's Note:** We interrupt our coverage of the jonin exams to present to you this special look at how it is our hero, Yuki, came to be. Enjoy. ;)

* * *

Tsunade sat in her chair, facing the windows, hands folded together on her lap as she watched darkness fall on her village. Knowing that her only child was out there, maybe even fighting for her very life at that moment, made her restless.

"I was younger... I was dumb... I should've kept her... I shouldn't have been with him at all..." she muttered angrily to herself.

_But you can't change the past_, she thought as she allowed her memories to consume her thoughts.

* * *

"Jesus, Orichimaru, what do you want with me?" she'd half-screamed.

He took a step towards her, the light rain glistening in his black hair, in the dim light of the shop the stood in front of.

"I want to take you on a date." he said gently. "I want to take you out for dinner. I want to start training with you again. I want to be your partner again... Tsunade." His eyes seemed to convey the message even further, turning almost to liquid in the light of the laterns. She was struck by the sincerity of his words, allowing it to show on her face for one fatal moment.

"You're an asshole." she spat at him, "And I don't want to see you except for when it's nothing short of one-thousand percent necessary." She turned on her heel and walked away.

But that wasn't the last of his attempts.

She'd open her front door every morning to find flowers- wildflowers, daises, roses, lillies, sunflowers, anything- with a note attached lying on her doorstep. He'd try to get her caught up at work so that it would be late enough for them to go out to dinner together. Sometimes there was an Ichiraku Ramen coupon left on her desk if she left before her lunch. Go as far as to even bring coffee by her office in the mornings, when she just so happened to need the extra boost, even.

Finally, she decided to confront him about it.

"Why are you doing this?" she'd asked when he offered to walk her home.

"A beautiful lady like you needs protection." he'd said simply.

"You of all people should know that I don't." Her eyes flashed.

He sighed. "Dear, let me be frank. I want to take you on a date because I'm attracted to you." He smiled yet again.

"Don't call me dear." she'd snapped angrily, before turning on her heel and leaving for her home.

It continued like that for a few weeks—him continuing his attempts to win her over, her resisting yet finding herself flattered by them, refusing to admit it to even Shizune.

One foggy morning she actually opened her door to find the man himself waiting on her. He had a large, gorgeous sunflower in his hand and a bright smile on his face.

"What?" She placed a hand on her hip as she said the word, her tone mildly annoyed.

"I won't do this anymore if you'll just go on that date with me." he said with a smirk.

"Good Lord! Don't you have anything better to do than stalk me?!" she half-yelled.

"Shh, you'll wake up your neighbors." He had that familiar smirk of victory across his face, like she had no way to trump the ace he'd just played. She narrowed her eyes.

"Have you come to enjoy my efforts?" He continued to smile.

"I enjoy watching them quite a bit." Part of her wanted to punch him in the face, part of her melted a bit as she gave up half the truth.

"I meant, do they flatter you?"

"Well..." She didn't want to admit that they did. True, she'd always had a thing for Orochimaru... even if he was just a cold-hearted snake. As she was thinking it out to herself, he stepped towards her and placed a cool hand on her, where her shoulder met her neck.

"It would be a lot more flattering and enjoyable for you if you would just come out to dinner with me tonight."

His golden eyes smothered hers.

"Alright. Fine. I give up. Let the record show that I resisted for a year and a half." She threw her hands in the air, turning her head a bit and closing her eyes with a sigh.

He chuckled. "I'll be back around dark... and wear something nice." He placed the sunflower in her hand and kissed her hair before walking away, still with that stupid smirk plastered across his face.

* * *

The dinner was nothing short of the beautiful ideal. Candles. Moonlight. Good food. They talked about everything- their friendship, the weather, the chances that Jiraiya was actually in bed with some girl right now... things of that nature, that made them friends.

But of course that topic was breached also.

"Why don't you just want to be friends?" she asked quietly.

"I can't stand it anymore. I want to be more to you than just your best friend. I want to be there for you whenever you need me."

She'd blushed and smiled and thanked him. He'd walked her home, kissed her goodnight sweetly...

And left the village the next morning.

She'd cried for hours; why would he up and leave? And later, why did he attack them? Konoha was his home; the people here were his friends. She didn't understand. And then, she didn't want to anymore. She just wanted to forget him, to move on and try to be happy again.

* * *

It was late in December, and the snow mixed with the rain that came down, turning the snow already on the ground in to a slushie mess. Tsunade was in her office, still working over a candle that was burning low, when suddenly there was a sharp knock, two times, on her front door. She collected the candle and carried it with her, expecting Shizune or someone else.

"You!" she hissed when it swung open to reveal him.

"I can explain, my dear... my Tsunade... please, just let me come inside." His tone was soft, pleading, riddled with sorrow.

Hot angry, tears brimmed up in her eyes. "My baby brother is dead. And just when I started to get over you, my love is dead. You might as well just kill me now."

"Why would I do a thing like that?" He asked. She looked at the ground. "... I love you... I miss you. Please, let me come in." he whispered, pleading.

She stepped aside and let him in.

* * *

They sat before the crackling fire, teacups in hand and a small plate of cookies in between them. He stared at her. She looked into the flames.

"What brings you back here tonight, Orochimaru? And what of all things brings you to my house?" She curled close around the teacup, with a blanket wrapped tightly around her.

"I'm a traitor. Anyone else would report me or kill me. But I knew I could depend on you." The hint of his old smile played up around the corner of his lips, but she couldn't bear to look at his face. She picked up a cookie and nibbled on it instead.

"I should hate you." she finally muttered.

"But you don't. You love me." She could almost hear the smile in his voice, so smug that wiping it off his face was tempting.

"Watch your mouth or you'll be dead in the morning." Her tone, while joking, he could hear the danger in. They were silent for a while until he noticed her temper had cooled.

"You said you loved me... Is that true?" She couldn't look at him when her face burst in to flames.

"Of course it is… I know it's not very credible now. But I would never lie to you about that." He seemed earnest enough, able to watch her face very carefully as he spoke the words.

"Hmm-mmm…." She leaned her head on his shoulder, merely content to have him back as a cold hand began playing with her hair…

* * *

She was three weeks late.

It was just a fluke. She'd been training hard lately, barely had any time for food—not to mention that she had been hiding a traitor and fugitive in her home for a little over a month. Though at that point, he was encouraging her to see a medic.

"Please," he'd begged her, "I want you to be happy and healthy. And you shouldn't be training if we had a little one at risk."

He was already able to sense the new life growing inside her. What perplexed him was that he normally didn't sense that until it was two or three months along, at the earliest. He had known this since what seemed like the very moment of conception—an energy emmating from her, a kind of power that almost made him fearful. But maybe this, too, was a fluke; after all, that child was his flesh and blood. And maybe it was just sucking energy from Tsunade as well, not just nutrients.

She returned that night looking as perplexed as he felt. Indeed, she was four and half weeks pregnant; it was too early to tell if something was wrong, but something was definitely not normal with the baby's chakra levels. Tsunade had instantly been suspended from any training until the doctor would be able to tell what was causing the baby's intense energy levels; she was incredibly pissed.

"How could you do this to me?" She whispered, placing her hand in her hands. "What am I going to do? I've had this sense, the last few weeks, that I've never been truly alone… but I can't give birth to a traitor's child here. They'll kill her, maybe even me….." A lone tear escaped, though her efforts to keep them locked away were enormous.

"Shhh." He put his arms around her. "Let me take the baby out of here, after she's born. I'll raise her until things cool down here, then bring her back. And we can be a happy family…"

_I don't like it,_ she thought, _children need to have mothers in their lives. But there's nothing else I can do… my hands are tied even carrying her to term……_


End file.
